Buried
by Niss Trah
Summary: After "Beneath the Surface", Sam tries to deal with the confusing fallout. S/J as usual!
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! I have just emerged from a hideous Minnesota winter, which may explain the excessive angst that follows…Can someone remind me why I live in this state? Snow in May! That's just so wrong.

This is set shortly after Beneath the Surface. Should be a few chapters when finished.

As always, thanks to **wackyjacqs** for your beta work! You rock! Go read her stories people! She's a fantastic writer!

-Buried-

"How long's this gonna take Carter? I'm missin' the game ya know."

Sam sighed internally as Colonel O'Neill continued to pester her. She wanted to tell him again that if he would just let her activate the device, she could study it much easier and wouldn't need as much time, but his last reaction to that request made her bite her tongue. The Colonel had been a complete horse's ass at times these past few months and she seemed to make it worse every time she spoke. She tried to answer on a positive note.

"Could I just have another hour Sir? If I haven't made any progress by then, I'll ask General Hammond to send a science team to take a look."

She didn't add that she would do anything possible to accompany said science team, figuring the Colonel wouldn't take it well. At his curt nod of agreement and his waved hand back at the device, she sighed in relief that more harsh words weren't coming from him. She couldn't seem to stop making him mad lately and planned to do nothing that could possibly aggravate him.

Ever since they'd returned from P3R-118, the Colonel had been snapping at all of them, but Sam was beginning to feel like she was bearing the brunt of the attack. She didn't think he'd looked her in the eye once since they went back on duty.

Sam, along with the guys, had been recovering on base from having their memories stamped for 2 weeks. After that, they'd had a week of downtime and she'd spent hers holed up in her house, drowning her sorrows in chocolate and ice cream. She'd been hurt when the Colonel had rudely and swiftly dismissed her from his presence in the infirmary when they had first returned through the gate. After their briefing, he'd barely spoken to her, and when he did, it was stilted and brash. So, she'd slunk home after her recovery and power snacked, trying to figure out what she'd done. Sam figured maybe he'd be even nicer to her after their….closeness…in the plant. She knew they'd have to return to a professional relationship, but she was at a loss to explain why Jack O'Neill seemed intent upon completely eradicating the fact that they had feelings for one another. She didn't see a reason why they couldn't still be friendly.

She bit a groan back when she heard O'Neill click on his radio less than 10 minutes later and rudely address Daniel with the same question. Daniel's annoyed response drifted to her and she tensed, her hands hovering over what she thought was the control panel. They'd all been treading cautiously around the Colonel this mission and Daniel's tone was anything but cautious.

Sam closed her eyes in frustration when O'Neill tersely shortened Daniel's time at the nearby ruins and his heavy footsteps started in her direction.

"Change of plans Carter. We're outa here in 30 minutes. So finish up. I want to make the gate by nightfall." Without waiting for a response, the Colonel retreated to a nearby rock and plopped down and began snapping the cover of his watch back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Sam's thoughts grew more and more morbid with every snap. The past 3 missions had been hellish with this man, and her patience had almost completely eroded. The Colonel trampled the last shred of that patience when she reached out to flip what she had already determined was the switch to power the device up.

"HEY! What did I tell you about turning that damn thing on?! I'm not in the mood for heroics today Carter. If you continue to disregard my orders, we'll just leave now." With her hand paused near the switch, turned to respond.

"Sir, I know it's a risk, but if I have less time now, it would be helpful if I could just turn it on." She sighed when he waved off her request.

"No can do Major. You'll have to figure it out with the power off. Just hurry it up would ya?"

Sam seethed as she turned back to the machine. She rubbed aggravated hands over her face and imagined them strangling a certain Colonel instead. In this moment, she could begin to understand why some people got satisfaction out of squeezing the life out of people. She clenched her hands into fists and slowly counted to 10. She didn't relish going to prison for murdering her commanding officer, no matter how much she might enjoy it. She didn't look good in orange.

As Sam continued to futz with the device, having long ago run out of options without turning it on, she grinned evilly as she imagined powering it on and shooting out a beam of light that vaporized only those of the male persuasion. She would miss Daniel and Teal'c, but GOD! Would it be worth it! As her thoughts ran away, she grew more and more annoyed with the man whom she recently professed to having feelings for. He had seriously helped in diminishing those feelings with his attitude lately and she'd love to give him a good tongue lashing. She rehearsed a particularly nasty one in her head as she pretended to study the device.

"_Oh sure Colonel, I would LOVE to cut my work time in half. Because you know, as long as you have a stick up your ass, I'll do your bidding no matter how ridiculous. If you want help pulling that stick out and beating yourself with it, just let me know Sir. It's not like some of us are actually WORKING on this mission or anything. After all, we MUST get home for your flipping hockey game. Your name really suits sometimes, you JACKASS!" _

Sam growled internally and slammed her tools back into their case, giving up on the device, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere in the next half hour. Just as she was about to stand, calmly tell the Colonel she was done and get the hell away from him, his gruff voice stopped her. She turned and faced an irate Jack O'Neill.

"EXCUSE ME Major?!" Angry couldn't begin to describe the look on his face. Sam was confused, wondering what she did, when he elaborated and her heart dropped into her boots.

"Do you really think I CARE; if YOU think I have a stick up my ass Major Carter?" Sam gasped and dropped her eyes shut in mortification. She'd apparently spoken that sarcastic commentary out loud.

_**TBC…**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So, I'm terribly sorry for not updating this story earlier. Last month I was captured by Ba'al in the dark of night and the maniacal snake head tortured me for endless days. Then, when rescue finally came, we had to fight off hoards of Jaffa, loyal to various System Lords. It was kind of a nightmare. But don't worry, I'm okay now and am seeing a shrink.

******As always, thanks to **wackyjacqs** for the wonderful Beta work and your patience when life makes me unavailable!

**-Buried-**

Previously…

"EXCUSE ME Major?!" Angry couldn't begin to describe the look on his face. Sam was confused, wondering what she did, when he elaborated and her heart dropped into her boots.

"Do you really think I CARE; if YOU think I have a stick up my ass Major Carter?" Sam gasped and dropped her eyes shut in mortification. She'd apparently spoken that sarcastic commentary out loud.

**Chapter 2**

Sam gaped at the Colonel in shock. She had no idea how to even begin apologizing. Yes, she was annoyed and frustrated with him, but she'd never meant to voice any of it. She snapped her mouth shut when she realized he was still waiting for her answer. His eyes bore into hers like lasers, and she tried to speak, praying she wasn't about to make things worse.

"Sir…I ah…" Sam cleared her throat when it came out as a squeak "Did I say all of that out loud?"

Yes Major, you did. And don't think I won't be reporting your threats to General Hammond. Now, pack up. We're meeting up with Daniel and Teal'c." He turned away from her to grab his pack and Sam sighed in relief that he seemed to be going easy on her, although she herself wouldn't call her comments threats, per say, but she wasn't about to argue semantics. Her relief was short-lived when he turned back.

"Oh, and Major? Keep the rest of your snide comments to yourself. I WILL not tolerate your continuing insubordination."

Sam clenched her hands around her P-90, trying to not let any more horrible thoughts of murdering Jack O'Neill enter her mind. She stomped out of the small structure after him and had to sigh again when she was immediately drenched. Apparently, it had begun to rain while they were inside. And saying it was pouring was an understatement. The water was almost coming down in sheets, and Sam could already feel it starting to seep through her clothes and boots. In the past, they would loudly complain about the rain together and it would instill camaraderie. Sam kept quiet and simply grabbed the rest of her supplies from where they'd been piled near the temple, determined not to speak to him unless necessary professionally.

The sound of the pounding rain was deafened by the screaming silence between them as they began to walk. She stopped when O'Neill held up a fist and motioned for her to hunker down. Logically, she knew the pounding rain and whipping winds made staying put a necessity, but a large part of her desperately wanted to stomp off toward the gate. Her military training won out though and she sat near him. Sam's heart ached with needing to know what the hell had set this man against her. This Jack O'Neill was so contrary to the one she'd known for over 4 years, and to the one that had called himself Jonah in an underground plant.

Sam sucked in a breath as an image of a soft smile, smudged face and unruly hair came to her. He'd been so sweet and comical as Jonah, and she couldn't reconcile the way he'd gently lay a hand on her arm, or let her rest her head on his shoulder with the man who hadn't stopped berating her since they'd returned.

Sam's shoulders dropped in relief as Daniel and Teal'c approached from the other direction. She saw the Colonel motioning to the guys and turned a distracted gaze onto the rain that was somehow tinted a faint purple. She tuned out the Colonel and stared into the rain, letting it whip down on her. Sam imagined the purple water washing away her anger as she tried to calm her irrational and morbid thoughts about her commanding officer. She knew though, that it wasn't really the anger that was getting to her, it was the heart-wrenching pain that sliced her with every brash order and snapped comment from his lips. With her eyes unfocused, she was shocked into soldier mode when something scorching hot sliced by her head, close enough for her to feel the heat on her cheek.

"Jaffa! Take cover" She heard the Colonel shout as he shoved her back toward the temple.

Sam scurried through the entrance and turned to see Daniel and Teal'c taking cover in the tree line. She looked at the Colonel and they communicated wordlessly, the rift between them temporarily forgotten, readied their weapons, and rose up to launch a volley of firepower at the group of Jaffa that had seemingly come from nowhere. They fought off the Jaffa for several minutes and they seemed to be gaining the upper hand when she saw at least a dozen more come up over a hill beyond them. Great, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Like this day could get any worse. WHY does all the shit always have to hit the fan on the same day? I should have just stayed in bed.

Just as she and the Colonel were about to venture out to join Daniel and Teal'c in the firefight, her head snapped up at a loud crack of lightening. It crashed into the temple and she was shaken off her feet with the rumbling of the old building. She turned her face to O'Neill in horror when the roof came crashing down on them. Sam curled on the ground and covered her head with her arms, knowing that it might not make a lick of difference. She cried out in fear when she watched the device she'd been working with come crashing down onto Colonel O'Neill. With a sickening thud, he went still. Her last thought before a large piece of debris slammed into her was _'I can't believe this is how it's ending between us.'_

**TBC….**

**A/N: **Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry again for making you wait. I have chapter 3 finished, so it will be up within a few days.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Sorry for the wait again everyone. But thanks so much for all the lovely reviews and for taking the time to read! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside I'm a little unsure about this ending still, so I hope you all think it's a good one. Let me know what you think. Maybe I'll go over this story again after a while and rework it a bit.

As always, thanks to **wackyjacqs** for your beta work! You made me feel so much better about this chapter! You rock my face off you sassy girl! ;)

**Buried**

**Chapter 3**

Sam threw yet another chunk of debris to the side and collapsed next to the Colonel's still inert form. Her waking moments two hours earlier had been in a panic. Her first memory upon waking was of O'Neill going deathly still after the device slammed onto him. She had scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her side.

When Sam had levered the machine off of the Colonel's body and knelt beside him, his skin had been ghastly pale and he hadn't so much as twitched. She'd inspected the knot already forming near his temple and had eventually pressed trembling fingers to his pulse point. She'd hovered over it, not wanting to discover that the injury had killed him. She'd had to breathe deeply and try again before her fingers felt his pulse pounding steadily. He'd apparently been simply knocked unconscious as she couldn't see any other injuries plaguing him. She'd rolled him onto his back and stuffed her jacket under his head, doing what she could to ensure at least some comfort when he woke.

Since then, she'd taken her ability to work on pure adrenaline to new heights. Sam had finally tended to her throbbing side, yanking a piece of jagged debris out and binding it tightly with the extra shirt in her pack. She'd then proceeded to begin digging her way through what used to be the entrance with her bare hands.

She was finally worn out now, and as she slid to the ground and watched the Colonel's chest rise and fall with each breath, she let herself worry for the first time. She had no idea what had happened to Daniel and Teal'c as her radio had been crushed and she hadn't been able to raise them on the Colonel's. The last she'd seen them, they'd been hunkered next to an enormous tree, firing at the advancing Jaffa. Sam sent up a rare prayer that they had emerged victorious and were right now coming back to help with reinforcements.

She leaned her head back against what she thought might still be a wall, and closed her eyes in exhaustion. She'd barely begun dozing when a groan had her head snapping back up. She sighed in relief when she saw the Colonel rub a weary hand over his face and through his dirt caked hair. Sam leaned forward to speak, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Sir? How are you?" The man licked his lips and grimaced as he tried to sit up.

"Carter…what?..." O'Neill gasped after speaking and put a hand to his head. Sam smiled slightly in sympathy, and backed up to give him some space. She figured he needed a minute for his mind to catch up, so she informed him of what she knew.

"You have a pretty nasty lump forming on your head, Sir. I woke about 2 hours ago and you've been unconscious the whole time. I figure you have a concussion." At his slight nod and frown of agreement, Sam continued, biting back a grin when he frowned menacingly at the device and absently rubbed at the lump she'd mentioned. "I started digging out the entry, but I don't think I got very far. Without tools, it'll take awhile. But I'm sure Daniel and Teal'c have already made it home and are on their way back to get us out." She tried to smile brightly at him, but he just nodded sharply and leaned his head against the wall.

Sam silently handed over his canteen, which was still about half full. When he felt it near his hands, he grabbed it and muttered "Thanks". She then watched as he took a long drink and proceeded to check himself for injuries. It was something they'd all learned to do after waking in a situation like this. She smiled in relief when he seemed to find himself in good shape. He probably had a pounding headache, but she knew he could deal with that pretty easily. She let her eyes roam over his face while his remained closed.

He'd looked better, definitely, but Sam couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier to see him. When he'd been knocked out, she believed the worst and had been petrified that he wouldn't wake up. Now that her adrenaline was wearing down, she felt tears of relief welling and blinked them away in horror when his eyes snapped open and met hers.

"Carter, what about you? You get hurt?" His words seemed to be those of concern, but Sam heard a tightness in his voice that she couldn't place.

"Ahhh…just in my side Sir. A piece of the ceiling stabbed me, but I removed it. Doesn't seem too deep, I should be fine." She tried to smile again, but he just stared at her with a stony expression and she faltered. When he finally spoke, he sounded tense.

"Well good. Since neither of us is hurt too badly, let's figure out what we need to do. Food? Supplies?" Sam hesitated slightly, not sure how to respond to his matter of fact attitude. Her hesitation cost her.

"Carter, I asked for a report on food and supplies. You've had plenty of time to assess the situation." Sam sucked in a breath at his terse comment, suddenly reminded of the fact that he'd been treating her terribly lately. In her panic when he was unconscious, she'd completely forgotten that he was angry with her. Unfortunately, she gave voice to those thoughts before she could think.

"Sorry Colonel, while I was worried about your life, I forgot that you're mad at me for reasons beyond my comprehension. And YES! I DID assess our situation. We have 3 MRE's between us and plenty of water. We also have the medkit, quite a bit of C4 and supplies to make a small fire. Does that satisfy you Sir?" She bit out the words through clenched teeth and stared obstinately into his face, so tired of the animosity that she didn't even care if he reported her any more. She wasn't surprised in the least when he snapped back at her the same way he had been earlier in the day.

"Major Carter, I don't know what the hell gave you the idea that you can sass me like a teenage girl, but if don't drastically alter your attitude, I WILL report you to General Hammond." At that, O'Neill stood and rifled through the packs himself, muttering the whole time under his breath. Sam got the distinct feeling he wasn't muttering her praises. She stood herself and faced his rigid back. She'd had enough and it was time he knew.

"You know what Sir? Whatever you may think of my attitude right now, yours is just as bad or worse. You've been a complete ass to me for weeks, and ordering me around like I'm back at the academy. If something has happened to make you believe we need to throw away 5 years of friendship and respect, then fine, I will be your yes-man, but don't you dare pretend like you don't know what you're doing. I know you're not that stupid." She'd spoken the entire thing to the back of his head, but by the way he'd stilled, she knew he was listening. But he didn't turn or respond for several minutes, so she gave up and decided to do exactly what she'd said. She'd be his yes-man and nothing more.

"Well Sir. We should eat. I'll prepare something." Sam silently prepared a fire and two of their MRE's and tried to ignore her heartache when he sat down stonily and ate without a single word. She stowed their used supplies and got up when he called to her.

When he told her to assist with removing some of the larger pieces by the entrance, she said

"Yes Sir."

When he ordered her to check their weapons in case they encountered Jaffa when they got out, she said

"Yes Sir."

When he commanded her to move a pile of rocks she'd made earlier to another spot in the room, she bit back a retort and said

"Yes Sir."

When he finally snapped and told her to stop acting like a suck up and sit down for a while, she shot him a sarcastic salute, sank to the floor and said

"Yes Sir."

The Colonel was soon standing before her and she braced herself for another dressing down.

"What the HELL is your problem Major?!" Sam stared back at him in defiance and slowly rose to her feet. When they stood on equal ground and she was a mere 3 feet from him, she spoke.

"MY problem?! With all due respect Sir, what is YOURS? You're being a complete butt head." His eyes flashed his anger at her and she was secretly excited. She'd been itching for a fight since at least a week ago.

"YOU are being insubordinate Major. I am not the one with a problem." He jabbed a finger in her direction and she snorted at him in disbelief.

"Insubordinate? I just said Yes Sir to every back-asswards order you gave me. WHY are you being such a jerk? I know that you know you are. So just tell me Sir." When he opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again, Sam knew she was getting to him, so she pushed on.

"What did I do to deserve this? A few weeks ago, we were fine, and now you're treating me like I've decided to suddenly take up with Apophis. WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY AT ME?! TELL ME!" She hadn't meant to shout, but as her last words left her lips and echoed around them, she realized her heart was pounding and her face was flaming hot. His response, the one she'd been waiting for, completely floored her.

"HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO STOP LOVING YOU?!" Sam gasped in shock and took a step back, stumbling slightly. She watched as his formerly red face completely drained of color. He apparently hadn't meant to say that out loud. Her voice came out choked and raspy.

"Sir!...I…" Sam nervously darted her eyes around them, not sure what to do or say. She focused back on him when O'Neill let out a deep sigh and she watched as the tension visibly left him.

"Carter, did I ahh…did I say all of that out loud?!" Though he sounded nervous, he also was slightly smirking at her, and she realized he'd called back her own words when she'd accidentally threatened to beat him with the stick up his ass. In spite of her shock and embarrassment, she rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Ah, yeah, you did Sir. In fact, you said it VERY loud." She stood nervously, clutching the edges of her green jacket, as he ran a weary hand over his face and the back of his neck. His shoulders slumped and he looked up at her in defeat.

"You're right you know" At her look of disbelief, he continued "No, really you are. I am being a jerk. It's just…" He waved his hand absently between them and stuffed the other in his pocket. "When we're alone now…I'm back in that damn plant…and you're not you, you're Thera, and I'm not me, but Jonah. And everything was easier." He sighed and paced a few feet away, turning his back to her again. But his words came again.

"It was harder than I thought it would be Carter. I don't…well…I can't look at you right now without it killing me. So I got angry, and took it out on you, because it makes it easier to not be so fricking in love with you."

Sam was utterly speechless. He had NEVER been so open with her and she had no clue what to do with him like this. She tried to form a response, but he obviously didn't feel one was required yet. He spun back around, walked toward her and stopped when they were toe to toe. He took her now clenched hands and disentangled them from her jacket. When they were resting in his larger, rougher, warmer hands, he looked directly into her already moist eyes and spoke.

"I'm sorry, ya know? If because of all that…if I've hurt you. I never wanted that..I just. I honestly don't have any idea how to do this. It's just easier…if we're not so…chummy…" He cast his eyes to the side and back again, obviously not pleased with his word choice. Sam cleared her throat and tried to speak without crying.

"Sir….I….what?...I mean…." Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gaining a sudden and unexplained bout of courage. She opened her eyes and looked into his. "You know I love you too, don't you?" When his eyes widened in shock she smiled ruefully and held up a hand to ward off any comments he may make. "I know we can't talk about it Sir, but I just…needed you to know." He choked out a respose, filled with the pain of the long awaited conversation.

"Sam...I…"

She interrupted before either of them could further cross the line they so carefully balanced on daily.

"It's fine Sir. We can leave it for now, okay?" She knew her voice sounded desperate and he looked into her eyes for long moments, seemingly searching for something, before he nodded. Sam smiled in relief at him and continued

"Couldn't you have just told me what was going on? We can take a step, or a few, back. I really do understand. It's been hard for me too, but when you treated me like absolute dirt when we came back, it broke me. I can't go from one extreme to the other like this. Couldn't we have just talked about it?" She lost the battle with her tears halfway through and sucked back a sob when she finished. He dropped her hands that she hadn't realized he was still holding and she hastily swiped at her face. Sam almost couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation. It felt surreal in a way and yet very real at the same time.

O'Neill's response was cut off when a faint voice called to them.

"Sam? Jack? You guys in there? Sam! Jack!" They looked toward the entrance as one and the Colonel cleared his throat.

"That'll be Daniel."

"Yeah." She watched in resignation as he walked closer to the rubble and called out to Daniel. As they listened to their people start digging them out, the Colonel turned to her.

"So Carter…we ahh…we okay?" He gestured between them again and she shrugged at him. She was still hurt that he'd decided to treat her like garbage instead of talking to her, but she knew that he'd revealed more today than he'd wanted to. He nodded at her silent response and shrugged himself.

"I'll ahh…stop being…what did you call me?...a butt head? Carter, I haven't been called a butt head since junior high." He waggled his brows at her and she smiled softly at his attempt to lighten the moment. She turned away as someone broke through the wall and gathered her pack.

Before she had time to process, Daniel and Teal'c, along with SG-7 were inside the crumbled structure and Colonel O'Neill was telling the guys what had happened and getting the details of the firefight from Daniel. Sam tuned in to hear that the Jaffa that had shown up before the temple collapsed were free Jaffa, and had assisted Daniel and Teal'c in gaining the upper hand. As they all filed out into the still damp outdoors, Daniel also informed them of his discoveries in the nearby ruins.

"You know, before all the stuff with the Jaffa, I had found the explanation of the device you were looking at Sam. Apparently, when 2 or more people entered within a certain vicinity, it acted as a sort of..well…truth serum. While inside whatever it's reach is, the people there are unable to lie and it even brings out the truth that people are hiding." At this, Daniel chuckled and shook his head, not noticing that Sam and Jack had both stopped in their tracks and were now staring in shock at Daniel. As he continued walking, they heard him express his doubt that a machine was actually capable of doing something like that.

Sam felt a light nudge at her back pull her from her stupor and she and the Colonel trotted to catch up with the others. The rest of the trip to the gate was made in silence as they attempted to sneak glances at one another.

When SG-7, Daniel and Teal'c had climbed the stairs to the gate and were about to go through, Colonel O'Neill stopped Sam with a hand on her arm, and smiled goofily.

"Umm…aliens made me do it?!" He looked pleadingly into her eyes and behind the goofy grin and lackadaisical manner, she saw pain, and his need to keep things covered up. Her heart broke all over again, knowing it would be a long time before they would ever discuss this again. She was shocked that they'd even had the nerve to say those words to one another and the courage she'd felt then had dissipated , leaving her unsure and uncomfortable with him. Sam knew though, that if things got much worse, SG-1 wouldn't be able to function properly. Not wanting to lose the people that had become her family, she steeled her reserve and looked at him, plastered a smile on her face and tried to convince herself that things were fine. That everything was normal again.

"Sure Sir…Aliens."

She didn't believe herself in the least.

**The End**

**Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you are pleased with the ending. **


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